Cat in the Cradle
by The hotdog man
Summary: Blake wakes on the eve of their graduation, and ponders the past. Jaune/Blake AU.


I'm sorry this isn't more off the beaten path, but something in me said the walk would still be worth it. You be the judge.

'If You Want to Sing Out' is a song by Cat Stevens. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth. And this story belongs to me.

12/16/16: Edits.

* * *

Blake stirred as the first rays of daylight spilled into the slumbering dormitory. She turned her face into her makeshift pillow and filled her lungs deeply with that all too familiar scent. Its singular sweetness drew her gently from her dreams, and into the waking world.

Her large velvety cat ears twitched as they took in the sounds that nested comfortably in the early morning phase of their quarters. Nora snored lightly at the far end of the room. Ren's nose gave a low whistle every time he breathed in; he was fighting off the last of a bug that was going around the school. And her sensitive ears picked up the singsong messages of birds through the window, as they happily chattered away.

She turned her head and placed her ear on her companion's chest, appreciating the gentle rise and fall. Her ear registered the low rumble of air moving through his body, and the strong, steady beat of his heart, that was wrapped up in a thick layer of bone and muscle.

The ends of her lips turned up in a small smile.

She breathed deeply once more, and opened her eyes. Her large amber orbs peered up at her blonde companion. She blinked owlishly at hm for a minute or two before giving his chest an affectionate nuzzle and wriggling into a more comfortable position. She propped herself up on her palm and held silent vigil over him as he slept.

Her wondering eyes swept slowly, lovingly, over his face. His brow was uncreased. His eyes were still under his smooth lids; he, too, would be waking soon, it seemed. His mouth was a neutral line. A little bubble of happiness rose in her heart when, on closer inspection, she noticed the tips of his lips were turned up. She idly wondered what his unconscious mind was thinking about, and if it had anything to do with her.

Her little smile widened, accompanied by soft purring at the back of her throat. It occurred to her that maybe he was actually awake, and was plotting some kind of move. Perhaps he wanted to see what she would do to coax him from his sleep.

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that she ended up falling in love with Jaune Arc. He was good, upright, just, friendly, and fair. And while he understood that his true enemy was the Grimm. He came to accept that man's inhumanity to man would need to be answered as well. He embodied all the things she herself wanted to be representative of.

Besides, her books had just as many heroic knights as they did lovelorn ninjas.

She had truly met him during initiation, though she remembered seeing him the previous day in the ballroom. She had landed amongst the trees and immediately used her weapon to pull herself up onto a sturdy branch.

She sniffed the air and identified several Grimm by their rotting stink some way to the west. If she recalled correctly there had been a pond in that direction. It was a likely place for one of the initiates to touchdown. So, it came as no surprise that she detected an undercurrent of fear—a sharper, acrid scent, not from the Grimm, but some other creature.

She propelled herself with ease through the foliage and emerged at the small clearing that framed the pond. And that was where she found a dripping Jaune Arc with sword and shield held aloft, surrounded by five Beowolves.

His body was shaking and clammy from having fallen into the water, but his arms were steady enough. It was his eyes that convinced her to stay; they were hard with determination and drive. He was afraid, anyone would be, anyone should be, but he would use that fear to keep him alive. He would not allow it to control him.

He had already killed the first in a mixture of desperation and luck, and turned to the second before she could jump into the fray.

Blake blinked, bringing herself back to the present. The sun's rays were stronger now. The muted silver blue of the coming day had transitioned into a fine light gold. Nora sprawled out in her sleep as she grappled with some strange dream. Ren had turned on his side, and appeared to have dropped deeper into sleep. And Jaune, whether feigning sleep or not, didn't show any signs of waking. Outside, the chirping of birds were joined by the odd click clack of early risers' boots on cobblestone.

She sighed contentedly and gazed at the prim and pressed outfits that hung on their closets. It was their second to last day at Beacon and they had long since dotted their I's and crossed their T's precisely so they could use this day to make up for all the sleep they'd lost throughout the year.

Blake returned her gaze to the young man below her and allowed the slow tempo of the day to lull her back into reminiscence. During their first days at Beacon they had mostly stuck together. This was more out of necessity than companionship, as neither of them knew the campus very well. She couldn't remember if they'd exchanged ten sentences between them during the first few weeks. Jaune would sulk about with a brooding expression firmly plastered onto his face. And she had barricaded herself in her books. Going to Beacon had always been her intention, but it was one of those things that looked better on paper than it did in practice. Being one of the few Faunus in a mostly human school kept her on edge. She snapped at anyone who got too close to her.

She smiled fondly as she began tracing little shapes on his chest. That sounded about right. She was in a different place four years ago. She had a lot to hide. She was so absorbed in her own issues that she never once considered the idea that she might be among friends. Ren and Nora had joined them just after initiation. She liked Ren; though she showed no sign of this in the beginning. He was just as quiet as she was, though certainly more sociable. Nora was... a perplexing creature, born of an inordinate amount of enthusiasm for both pancakes and killing Grimm. She bounced happily between all three of them, attempting to melt the ice through continuous exposure to bubbly happiness, rather than breaking it through targeted questioning.

One day, Nora got Jaune to crack a smile, and that was all it took for him to come out of his petrified shell. He may have tried his best, but it was impossible not to love Nora. He and Ren got along well after Jaune finally opened up, both of them being of mild manners and long patience; Ren from his friendship with Nora, and Jaune, his seven sisters.

Seeing that she had 'fixed' Jaune, Nora set her sights on Blake, though with less appreciable success. She would remain as quiet and reserved as ever. But by the third week, Blake no longer berated the orange haired girl when she broke her away from her books. That actually counted for quite a bit, believe it or not.

Blake arched her back and yawned, a light purr fell from her lips as she settled down onto the bed and nestled herself in the crook of Jaune's neck.

Most of their interactions during the first days had been in the library. She had gone because she wanted peace and quiet. The three others went with her because they had nowhere else to go. And they all had quite a bit of homework to do.

After spending some time working together, Nora would get a strange look on her face which Blake interpreted to be conspiracy masked as innocence, and drag Ren away, leaving her and Jaune alone in their secluded table.

The two would pass the time without saying a word. The only sound between them was the soft rustling of aged paper, and the light scratch of pen to notebook. She would glance at him once in a while to gauge his mood, and would always find him intently studying a textbook, or puzzling over a problem. His brows came together and his eyes took on a sharp, concentrated glare whenever he was working. She simply didn't feel it would be right to disturb him with idle questions. And, she found out later, he felt the same way about her.

Blake slid a long leg across his body and hooked it around his thigh; the hem of her yukata rode up an inch or two, revealing smooth ivory skin. She placed her hand over his heart, appreciating the warmth radiating through the thin fabric of his shirt. She closed her eyes and felt the strong beat, memorizing it, willing her own heart to beat in time.

It was about a month into their time at Beacon when they had their first breakthrough, the only one they would ever need, really. Her life had been filled with danger and fear on an almost daily basis. Being part of a terrorist group tended to have that effect. But the time she and Jaune spoke, really spoke to each other, had to be one of the scariest—and most rewarding experiences in her life.

* * *

Blake emerged onto the dormitory rooftop and closed her eyes as a breeze wove its way through her inky black hair. She hugged herself against the cool nip that had settled in for the night, and walked over to the edge of the building. In contrast to the festivities downstairs, the campus was quiet at this late hour. The silver light provided by the shattered moon washed the campus in an ethereal light that made it look like a city of legend from one of her fantasy novels.

She took a deep breath. It was beautiful.

She turned her large amber eyes up to the broken crescents that served as this planet's moon. One month. She had been here for one full month. She'd already made... acquaintances, or at least that's what she thought they were. They didn't jeer at her, or send her nasty looks. They didn't abuse her or otherwise cause her mischief. On the contrary, they had nothing but good spirits and companionship to offer her. In Ruby and Nora's case, whether she wanted it or not. The only possible exception was Weiss, but she was surly with everyone.

Her thoughts drifted to her partner. She wondered what he would think if she revealed her true nature to him. He had made his distaste known when that bully was abusing Velvet; something she herself had wanted to be more proactive about, but her instincts refused to allow her to call attention to herself.

She felt guilty.

She was here to help ease tensions between humans and Faunus, not so she could find another layer under which to hide.

She was broken from her thoughts by the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. Her bow twitched at the pleasant sound. She turned and easily found Jaune Arc slouched in the shadowy side of the rooftop entrance.

Had he always been there, or had she been so absorbed in her plight that he just slipped past her? She pushed the disturbing thought away and found herself drawn towards the music. She moved silently simply as a rule, so she was practically on top of him when he noticed someone else was there.

He jolted in surprise. "Gah! Blake! Blake!?" His eyes didn't quite believe that she could be there.

Her face remained expressionless, but she tilted her head a bit and her eyes sparkled more. Four years ago, this was her version of a smile.

He blinked up at her for a moment where she assumed he was trying to figure out what her expression meant, or rather, her lack of expression. Then his his eyebrows shot up and his eyes grew wide. He gasped and slid down the concrete, further into the moonless gloom. "Where are my manners? Here, sit down." He pat the spot he had just vacated.

This was one of the things she had come to learn about him as she observed the people around her. He wore his expressions and emotions quite honestly. What you saw was what you got. It was refreshing to meet someone that didn't appear to have a talent for deception. That having been said, there was still something that was bothering him. She could tell. When they were alone in the library, she could sense his mood darken.

She sat down next to him wordlessly and hugged her knees to her chest.

They sat like that for two minutes, or five, or maybe even ten, neither of them could tell. But it was a good silence. Peaceful. Serene.

Jaune started strumming his guitar again, and her ears twitched curiously. She listened to the soft twangs of the strings mingling with the crickets' accompaniment. She decided that she liked his playing. Even in his idle state, it was clear he had some formal training in the instrument. His fingers didn't move clumsily, and he seemed to know which forms to take with his left hand to draw out the notes he wanted with his right.

"Where did you learn to play?" Her soft voice slipped gracefully into the night.

Jaune stopped strumming and adjusted the tuning pegs. "I've got a lot of sisters back home. And since I'm the only brother for seven sisters, they all had to share." A slow smile spread across his face. Blake noted that this was one smile he hadn't yet used with anyone here. "So, I ended up playing most of the games they did. When they sang, I sang. When they played dress up, so did I. When they learned instruments, I jumped right in."

Blake never had any brothers or sisters to play with. Her childhood was made up of drills, training, and a healthy dose of fear of her fellow man. She forced the thought away before it could depress her, and focused on the present.

She remembered what she had set out to do. Her heart raced at the thought of revealing herself to someone else so far from home; so far from where it was safe. Though, even home was never truly safe. She didn't even have a home to go back to. Not anymore. And certainly not after what she'd done on the train. But this was one of the best opportunities she had, yet. She was in a private enough setting with her own partner. Who better to turn to her side, than the person she would be working with for the next four years?

Before she could muster up any more courage, her natural instinct took over.

"Can you play something?" Traitor! She cursed herself. She rationalized it as a genuine desire to hear his playing, but she knew that deep down she only wanted to stall for time, perhaps even forget her courage altogether.

Jaune's slow smile reached his eyes, and she noticed for the first time just how blue they really were, fathomless in their absolute expanse.

"Sure." He stared out into the dark campus for a moment before adjusting his hands for the opening notes. "Here, this one's an Arc family favorite."

Jaune strummed up an easy melody. His fingers worked through the familiar chords a few times before he took a deep breath, and started singing.

"Well if you want to say yes, say yes. And if you want to say no, say no. Cause there's a million ways to go, you know that there are." The guitar piped up in a jaunty trill. "And if you want to be me, be me. And if you want to be you, be you. Cause there's a million things to do, you know that there are." He sang with a smile, and Blake could see the sparkle shine brightly in his eye. "You can do what you want, the opportunity's on, and if you can find a new way, you can do it today. You can make it all true, and you can make it undo, you, see." An unexpected warmth spread throughout her body as the happy lyrics washed over her. She'd never heard someone sing before. "Well, if you want to sing out, sing out. And if you want to be free, be free. Cause there's a million things to be, you know that there are."

The final notes from the guitar warbled off into the night, and the last quivering notes from his voice trailed off after it like a lost dream. Blake sat quietly, as echoes of the song reverberated through her mind. The song spoke of acceptance and a bright future filled with limitless possibilities. The ends of her lips turned up. It was idealistic and simple. A crueler heart would scoff at its sugary innocence. But even with her own outlook, molded by the realities of the world as it was, she could appreciate the message. Because, all else aside, it was a hopeful song, and she was a hopeful person.

Blake was drawn out of her musings by the fine appendages atop her head. She heard his breath hitch before she saw the thin glimmer of tears. They streamed quietly down his cheeks.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry." He wiped his tears away slowly and deliberately. "I guess I just got a bit homesick."

Her eyes softened. She resisted the urge to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "No, that's alright. I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to make you upset."

Jaune waved it off and offered her a watery smile. "No worries, friend."

Silence descended upon them once more; this one just as comfortable as the last. Blake found her spirits lifted by the pleasant song. She probed the idea of revealing her heritage to the young man once again. She found that the voice of protest was muted by her renewed courage.

She chanced a glance at her companion. He sat with his arms folded over his guitar, he gazed far off in the distant night. His eyes had lost the sparkle that had shined so brightly. Now, they were two smoldering pools of cobalt. She recalled that this was the same dark mood she would notice from time to time when they were in the library together.

Her large amber eyes puzzled over him for a long moment. He had called her his friend. Just like that. She hadn't made any significant difference in his life, and yet he considered her his comrade. If anyone had to know about what she was. If anyone would understand, she was sure it would be him.

"Blake?" She blinked at him and cocked her head slightly, indicating she was listening. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you. Everyone, really. But you have to hear it first, I suppose." He looked down at the polished grain of his guitar. He sighed and set it aside. He ran a hand through his hair and drew his knees up, simply trading one defensive huddle for another. He crossed his arms, and stared out onto the moon washed campus for a long minute. Blake was nothing if not patient. She could see in his eyes that he was building up his courage while his body language prepared him for some kind of admonishment.

A pained expression flashed across his face. "I faked my way into Beacon." A pregnant pause; he was waiting for some type of reaction. She simply waited longer for a bit more of an explanation. He sighed and continued. "I forged some transcripts and held my breath for a few weeks. I got my acceptance letter and it felt like every bit the hollow lie that it was. My parents were so proud." He squeezed his limbs into himself in an attempt to become smaller. "I come from a long line of warriors—heroes. My dad was a great hunter, and his dad before him, and his before him, all the way back to the Great War. As their only son, I had to—wanted to—live up to that name." She detected a watery quiver in his voice. She could feel the distress rolling off him in waves. "But I was always too weak. My dad tried to do what he could with extra training, different weapons, but it took me five times longer to learn the simplest things. Eventually, he waned off my exercises and I had to do the rest on my own from whatever books or diagrams I had lying around.

"But I wouldn't give up." She saw the hard glint come back into his eye. "I wanted to help others. And I wanted to do it by becoming a hunter." A long sigh that she suspected he'd been holding for years, flowed through his lips. "I guess, in the end, I would even cheat if it meant achieving my goal."

She gazed out onto the sweeping grounds, wondering what it was he saw out there. It made sense, in a way. He was working far harder than anyone else here. This was a school for the best of the best. Naturally, they wouldn't waste much time on recap that an inexperienced student would invariably need to catch up.

Then again, she hadn't gotten into Beacon through a hunting school either. Though, she hadn't exactly been self taught either.

The pair were silent for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. Blake wasn't actually as put off by this as he must be thinking she was. She had seen how he performed during initiation, and while it probably hadn't crossed his mind, she was certainly free to give him the slip any time she thought he was holding her back.

But she didn't. Yes, his moves were unrefined and exaggerated. He hadn't exactly cultivated a style all his own, which he should have by then, and his striking opportunities had come from luck or her own maneuvers, rather than his own. But she saw the potential in him. And his drive to learn from his mistakes.

"So, what?" was her reply.

Jaune's head snapped up in surprise. He gaped at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. "So what!?" He threw his arms up. "Blake, I'm a fraud!"

She gazed at him evenly. "You survived initiation. Technically, that means you're meant to be here."

"Come on, that was mostly because of you. Thank you, by the way. You saved my bacon out there more times than I can count."

"Then, you're a good judge of character. I'm glad you picked me." It would take her some time to realize, that was her attempt at a joke. She couldn't remember the last time she had simply tried to tell a joke.

It had the desired effect, though. Jaune's quick bark of laughter, while it didn't fully restore his spirit, did get him to uncoil a bit.

"But seriously, Beacon isn't the only way to become a huntsman. Its just a more structured path. You can just as easily put some years of combat experience under your belt, get a few references, which would lead to your license, and you'd be on the same footing as anyone who came out of Beacon.

"But even that doesn't matter. The important thing is, that you're not squandering your opportunity. You work hard, and you make sure you clear the concepts before moving onto another lesson.

"If you think about it, don't you think it was a little too easy for you to simply get some rewritten transcripts and get in? Don't you think they'd have some kind of counter check in place for just such a situation as yours? All they would have to do is ask your village, or wherever you got your transcripts from, about your grades to find the discrepancy. And if they were going to make an issue of it, they would have by now. It would probably be some kind of nightmare for them if they were caught sending unqualified students through initiation.

"So, it stands to reason that they more than likely already know about your forgery, but they decided to keep you on because they see your potential. And if you could get in with such a simple method, it also follows that others have also gotten in the same way, and probably will after you, too."

She ended her speech with a small shrug. This really wasn't all that big a deal. Really, he would only have to make sure to work on his combat, but that was something everyone could use work on, and wouldn't be much more of a problem if he kept at his training.

They lapsed into silence again, but this time Blake kept her large amber eyes hovering over his hunched form. Gradually, he began to unfold as he worked his way through her logic.

Finally, he looked at her with a hesitant smile. He didn't look entirely convinced, but it looked to her like he was willing to move beyond it now.

"Thanks, partner. That means a lot to me." His smile reconfigured to one that reached his eyes. She could feel the warmth in his eyes, and wondered if this was the smile he reserved for his sisters.

She broke eye contact and told herself the heat on her face was from talking so much. She wondered if he would smile like that if he knew she was a Faunus. He didn't seem to bear any ill will toward his fellow Faunus students. And he seemed to carry on amiable conversations with Velvet whenever they passed by one another.

The slow burning courage that had settled into her heart after he had sung for her was still very much there, pulsing dutifully in her heart. She wanted to tell him—needed to. Especially after he had revealed his less than honest means of entry into the school. She had information that could hurt him; that bespoke of a degree of trust that he was placing in her.

But the knowledge that he would more than likely accept her didn't make it any easier. Her heart beat with equal parts fear and excitement. She had never revealed herself to another human before. And she had heard horror stories of others who had. She felt dizzy while she tried to rehearse what she wanted to say. Her instincts battled mercilessly with her courage. The longer she stalled, the more doubt crept into her mind.

It soon spiraled into a storm of irrational thoughts, spurred on by an active imagination. She stared out into the night, hugging her knees to her chest. He could kill her. She didn't have her weapon, and she was no match in a physical fight. They were alone, and he could just wring her neck and kill her. He could throw her off the building and make it look like an accident.

What if he became suspicious of her hiding. Velvet didn't need to hide, but she did. Of course, she actually had something to hide. What if he pried, and found out she was once part of the White Fang? What would he do then? Throwing her off the roof would probably be a mercy compared to the punishment she would no doubt receive.

She squeezed her eyes shut and ground the nonsensical train of thought to a halt. She wasn't thinking clearly. Imagining silly fantasies weren't going to make things any easier. She simply had to trust in her intuition that this was the right person to reveal herself to. That she needed to do it now, or she'd keep finding excuses not to.

She glanced at Jaune, who was now in a more relaxed posture, with one leg extended and his hands clasped over his drawn knee.

She just had to take a chance.

"Actually," she began. "I've got to tell you something, too." Her voice was quiet but clear. She liked that she didn't swallow her words.

Jaune gave her a quizzical look and then nodded firmly, giving her his undivided attention.

Blake looked around, the side of the roof entrance was gloomy and difficult to see in for a human. It was a fine location for a conflicted knight to nurse his musings, but she wanted there to be no mistake in what she needed to show him.

She got to her feet in one fluid motion and motioned for him to follow. "Come with me."

The raven haired girl led her blonde companion to the moonlit side of the terrace. They stood under the silvery glow for a moment, each buzzing with anticipation. Blake glanced at the door that led back down into the building. It was shut and hadn't been disturbed since she came up. She couldn't hear anyone walking around on the campus below, and she couldn't hear any noises from open windows.

She had about as much privacy as she was going to get.

That didn't stop her from double checking. She squashed down the creeping suspicion that she was stalling for time again.

Blake looked up at Jaune. He stood about half a head taller than her. He peered down at her with questioning eyes, but without fuss. Whether his patience had been cultivated by his assignment to the quiet girl, or whether he had it all his life, Blake didn't know, but she appreciated it all the same.

She opened her mouth to speak, to begin making her case, but her sense of balance told her that the ground was swaying to and fro. But that couldn't be right. Her ears flicked back and forth, sensing imaginary threats. But of course, there was nothing there. And she became painfully aware that she did not have her weapon on her person.

Jaune, unaware of all of the turmoil going on in her head simply offered her a small smile, patient and reassuring. Her golden eyes swam uneasily against his solid cobalt orbs; she prayed she wasn't wrong about her decision.

Her shaky, sweaty hands slowly reached up and gripped her bow. Her slender digits deftly worked the cloth despite her frayed nerves. She could feel the bow's grip on her sensitive ears loosening, lessening, and finally coming away. The two soft, velvet appendages sprung up atop her head.

All this time she had held Jaune's gaze, memorizing every flick and fidget of his eye as he watched what she was doing. But now that the bow was off, her courage fled her and she broke eye contact, preferring instead to stare into an anonymous point on his chest. Which was perhaps even worse, because now with her ears unburdened, she could hear perfectly the sharp intake of breath, and a footstep—back or forward—she couldn't tell. Her eyes were seeing, but they weren't processing anymore.

A black fear gripped her heart as she awaited his reaction. What would he think? What would he say? What would he do!? She had heard horrible stories in the Fang about how humans treated Faunus. What if he—

"It must be uncomfortable, having to wear that bow all the time. Well, hard to hear, too, I suppose."

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. She gaped at him in mild surprise.

Jaune smiled easily down at her as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Of course Blake was a Faunus, what else would she be?

Her luminous golden eyes shimmered in the silvery moonlight. "Y-You're not upset?"

"No." He shook his head and stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders. It was then that she noticed just how large they really were. "Blake, you're among friends here. Me, Ren, Nora, Ruby, Yang, everybody here is on the level." A wry smile cut across his lips. "Well, with the possible exception of Weiss, but we can't win 'em all, I guess."

He said 'we'. Already he was squarely on her side.

She couldn't resist a small smile. "Thank you,"

He slid his hands from her shoulders and stepped back, looking down at her with fresh eyes. Blake thought he looked content. She felt it was fairly appropriate; they had both unloaded their secrets onto one another with favorable results.

She reached up to replace the bow.

"You don't need to keep that on anymore, you know. The others will understand, Blake. Look at Velvet. She has an understanding team. She doesn't need to... hide." He finished lamely, like he didn't like to use the word, but didn't have a better alternative.

Her hands slowed as she worked the ribbon. She considered it, she really did. She already had one ally, and that was a hundred percent increase from before. But in the end, the whispers of doubt and fear spurred her on, and she finished with the ornament. Velvet didn't have the White Fang looming over her head.

"I know. But I'm still not ready to tell anyone else. It was hard enough showing you and you're just one person, my own partner." She blinked up at him. "My friend. I just need some time."

Jaune's mouth turned into a thin line, and his eyes darkened as she saw him mull over her words. Finally, he nodded.

"Okay, it's your call. But I want to be there when you do decide to tell the others. You're not doing this alone."

He couldn't know how much those words meant to her.

* * *

Blake breathed deeply, as Jaune's scent roused her gently from reminiscence. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and slid her hand from atop his heart to around his shoulder. She purred into the hollow of his neck, imagining the soft vibrations rolling across the sensitive skin there.

If he wasn't awake before, surly he would wake now. She peered up at him to see if there was any change.

No luck.

A content smile spread across her face as she nested closer to her companion, pressing her body more fully into his side. She always appreciated the way they fit together regardless of their position. Like the old puzzle piece analogy she'd read one too many times in her love stories.

Her large golden eyes watched the bright sunlight creep further down the economical gray carpet of their dorm. It had to be about ten o'clock by now. She saw Ren stir from the corner of her eye. He lazily stretched his arms overhead, glanced at Nora, then, seeing she was still fast asleep, looked over at his clock on the bedside table.

His eyes met hers for a second in silent greeting, before he settled back down to bed.

Still too early.

She agreed wholeheartedly.

The young ninja settled down and decided to pass the time by roaming her eyes over the solid landscape of Jaune's chest. She started at his neck, and slowly moved down to the gentle swell of his chest. She tumbled down the slope of his chest and began the long trek across the flat, hard muscle that protected his stomach.

After their talk, they had been more open with one another. They had been in the library, as usual, and they had just finished quietly discussing their work. Nora stared bright eyed at the two of them; happy that they had finally had a chance to become friends.

They decided to relax for the rest of the day, which Nora took as her cue to take Ren and drag him away again. After she was sure no one would interrupt them, Blake stealthily slid her copy of Ninjas of Love over to Jaune's side of the table.. He gave her a curious look, but she only blinked at him innocently. Her bow twitched once.

It was then that he asked her for extra training. She thought it was a reasonable request. He was starting off on the left foot, having only had his self teachings to rely on. And while he was doing well with his book learning, his physical training could use some supplementing.

She gave him a small smile in response, and a firm nod.

He read her book and she devised a training regimen based very much on her own back when she was in the White Fang. They met on the rooftop of their dorm and trained by moonlight. Blake was willing to admit to herself that it was a comfortable routine she'd established for herself.

Some nights, when he was feeling brave, he would get a look in his eye. She knew he wanted to talk about her revealing herself to their other friends, but she would only offer him a small shake of her head. Not yet. She wasn't ready yet. Of course, she knew better. She was more than ready. Only, her treacherous mind had become complacent in the knowledge of having one good human friend.

Blake dozed lightly as she watched her companion's chest rise and fall, rise and fall. The fine hairs on her cat ears flicked against his cheek. A deep sigh of pleasure slid past his lips. Oh how easy it was to bask in the comfort of her first real friend.

She thought her secret would be safe for as long as she pleased. She had spoiled herself on Jaune's easy friendship and complete dependability. It was only half way through their third month at Beacon that whatever time she thought she had was abruptly cut short.

They had made a day trip of Vale with their sister team, headed by Ruby. Everything had been going well until they had come across a Dust shop that had been burglarized. This put Weiss in a foul mood, and caused Jaune to shoot looks of warning at her every once and again when she spoke of Faunus as criminals.

In a show of welcome solidarity, Jaune defended her people valiantly, citing that not all of them joined the Fang, and that all they wanted was a fair shot at life, like everyone else. And, with unusual passion, he went on to say that it was pure nonsense that humanity would split itself into human and Faunus when the Grimm threatened them all. To segment their forces across, what he felt, were rather arbitrary lines, and wage war, and create conflict, and to stir up hate, while there were Grimm on the planet, was an exercise in lunacy.

They finally agreed to disagree, and Blake let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. That is, until Sun appeared and led everyone a merry chase through the harbor district of Vale. Weiss' bad mood returned in full force. It wouldn't let up for the rest of the day, and by the time they reached home, everyone was unhappy.

Blake remembered standing off to the side of their sister team's dorm room while the young heiress worked herself into a steady rage. She revealed her troubled past with the White Fang, and their attempts on the lives of her company's employees; how it affected her at home.

All the while, she could feel Jaune's eyes on her. She couldn't bring herself to meet his. She didn't want to know what emotions were swirling around in those impossible blue depths. Would he turn on her? Would he defend her again? She couldn't know. Her overtaxed heart couldn't take it.

She finally cried out at the abuse humans had put her people through. They had simply had enough, so they fought back. She froze. She'd revealed herself. Worse, she had admitted her involvement with the White Fang. This was very different from her intent to pass off as just another Faunus.

She acted on instinct.

She ran.

The raven haired girl knew she was being pursued the moment she stumbled into the bitterly cool night. She knew who was coming after her, and she didn't want to know what he would do when he caught her. She put on a burst of speed in a vain attempt at losing her tail.

She only stopped when she bumped into Sun. He offered to take her away from this place, and she couldn't see any more reason to stay. Her large amber eyes darted about fearfully for her pursuer—furiously blinking away pinpricks of tears she refused to admit were there.

She and Sun had fled to Vale, and no matter how circuitous a route she took, she could feel eyes dig into the back of her head. Her ears twitched uneasily. She pushed down the urge to look behind her lest she find an angry knight stalking toward her.

Blake felt those dark cobalt eyes on her for days after she had run away. She thought he would give it up after the first night. But he only became more persistent. It got to the point where she could swear she saw him just at the other end of the street, in the corner of her vision, in the reflection of a store window.

So, when it came to confronting Torchwick at the docks, she wasn't surprised to find Jaune right next to her, sword and shield at the ready. They fought as partners once more. If he bore any ill will toward her, he had put it away until they had driven off Torchwick and his goons.

To her shame, she tried to disappear again, but she found herself being violently spun around and crushed into the solid mass of his chest. Her stunned mind thought she would die there, that this was a prime opportunity for him to slide a knife into her chest. But all he did was hold her, while sliding his hand through her soft hair.

As her mind calmed down, she wondered when she'd been held like this last. She slowly realized she'd never been held this way before; it was an entirely new experience. She committed the warmth and security she felt to memory. She could never be sure when she would feel the same way next.

Blake watched him out of the corner of her eye as they they made their way back to Beacon. They didn't exchange a single word while they walked through the crowded streets of Vale. He walked close to her, never more than an arm's length away. Instead of feeling offended, she felt a strange sense of relief. He was walking close as her friend, not her warden. Seeing his face set in a determined frown only filled her with the assurance that whatever trouble waited them back at school, they would face it together.

A light humming brought Blake back to the present. It took her a moment to realize that it was she who was humming, and that the song was the same one Jaune had played on the rooftop four years ago. It had become her shield whenever Weiss became too much of a pill to handle, as well as her anthem when she wanted to celebrate her hope for a better tomorrow.

Jaune turned toward her in his sleep and wound his arm lazily around her waist. She pulled herself closer on instinct, and slid her arm from around his shoulder to a more secure grip around his waist. She nestled her head into the hollow of his neck, appreciating the warmth that radiated from him; his chin rested comfortably on top of her head.

Ever since that day, Jaune stuck to her like glue. And, when she felt like being honest with herself, she was happy about that. There was no way she could convince him to let her take on the White Fang alone. And if he was going to fight by her side, his skills would need to grow accordingly.

She added meditation to their training regimen. Everyone unlocked their Semblance in a different way; some needed a traumatic experience, others found it by accident, and others, like her, used meditation to center themselves and hone their inner abilities. She wasn't sure which method Jaune would need to unlock his, but if nothing else, it would help him organize his mind.

He was not the only one who benefited from their increased lessons. His gentle and patient nature got under her skin, and she opened up to him little by little. They shared little facts about their lives at first, under the watchful gaze of the broken moon. Later, they would share whole episodes from their differing pasts. His were light and happy, filled with days of chasing after his hyper sisters; hers were darker, filled with an increasingly militant attitude toward her fellow man, and danger around every turn.

She could tell he wanted to hold her like he did at the docks. She could see it in his eyes. But all he did was quietly place a hand on her shoulder. She allowed it; it was harmless, and a happy thrill lanced through her spine at such positive contact.

Blake softly nuzzled Jaune's neck as she squeezed herself into him. His unconscious body responded by burying his face in her hair. Her ears flattened pleasantly as his lips pressed against the top of her head.

Her first year at Beacon was one of the happiest she'd ever had. Even with the looming threat of the White Fang, she was never allowed to wallow in worry. Jaune would organize little events and activities to keep his team on its feet and force her mind to engage in something other than twisted speculation.

They explored most of Vale throughout the year. They did everything from watching local boating festivals, to exploring abandoned subway stations. She'd been tricked into watching the film adaptation of Ninjas of Love, for which she had sported a mortified blush for at least a week. They even took part in Ruby's crazy food fight. Those memories always brought a smile to her face. They were times when she could almost believe that she was just another young student out with her friends. Almost.

The ninja in her was always waiting for the wind to change direction. From their skirmishes with the White Fang, she knew they would identify her. And if Beacon wasn't already a target, it would be once Adam was informed. And where Adam went, death followed.

Her amber eyes smoldered darkly as she recalled that horrible memory. Her hand slid around her companion's waist and lightly traced the thick, jagged scar that nearly split him in two.

* * *

Blake sprinted up the final hill to the main entrance of the school. Jaune, Ren, and Nora kept pace at her side, slicing down any Grimm that got in their way. Even before they got to the gates, they knew the school had been breached.

When they crested the hill they could see the full magnitude of the coming carnage. Grimm rampaged across their safe haven. Students, teachers, and staff clashed awkwardly with the invading beasts. No one had been prepared for such an attack. Who could reasonably expect to be attacked at the center of hunter training in all of Vale?

"We have to split up. Cover more ground." Jaune's voice wrenched her from her daze. Even she found it hard to believe Beacon had been compromised. "Ren, Nora, head over that way and help out the staff. Blake and I will make our way to the tower. There's some kind of commotion going on over there. When you can, regroup with us at the tower."

Jaune blinked and his eyes glowed a brilliant gold. Then, his three teammates were enveloped in brief flash of golden light. Her mind cleared, her senses sharpened, her muscles hummed with renewed energy, and the fatigue of running almost the whole way to Beacon disappeared. She was sure Ren and Nora were feeling something similar. Such was Jaune's Semblance.

"Stay safe out there."

The two pairs split off to their appointed tasks.

Blake cast sidelong glances at her partner as they sprinted toward Beacon's iconic lighthouse. The more people he bestowed his ability on, the less effective it became. As a result, he never used it on himself. She had tried to break him out of such foolishness, but this was one thing he would never budge on. Regardless, he was keeping pace, admirably.

They had finished dispatching a small clan of Beowolves when they came upon the dining hall. There was a gaping hole in its side, and it was weeping black smoke from a fire somewhere deeper within. And stepping out from the red, angry blaze was Adam.

He cut the perfect figure of a demon with his bull horns, black and red attire, Grimm mask, long, towering stature, and the corpse of an Atlesian soldier at his feet. He regarded the duo with an uninterested frown.

"So this is where you've been hiding, my darling."

Even with a dry mouth, the bitterness in her voice was absolutely acidic. "Adam."

Dark shapes swirled in the burning dining hall, before coming forward, revealing a small troop of White Fang. Blake and Jaune slung their weapons low by their hips, readying themselves for attack.

"I don't know why you've attacked us, but please let us pass. There are Grimm and hurt people everywhere. Let us help them. We have no quarrel with you." Jaune, ever the diplomat.

"Oh, I think you do."

Adam unsheathed his blade and darted forward. Jaune brought up his shield and prepared to take the strike head on. Blake's ribbon was flying before Adam stopped talking, ensnaring the crimson blade before it could reach its mark. The horned Faunus shot his sword out from the rifle sheath, forcing Blake back. He wheeled the barrel around and shot Jaune twice. Both slugs impacted his heater shield, pushing him back.

Blake moved to intercept her former partner, but felt an icy fear zip through her body. She changed course and busied herself instead with the White Fang. She whipped Gambol Shroud around, creating distance with the blade end extended. She snapped the ribbon back and switched to pistol mode, sending a precise volley into her former allies.

Three fell, but the rest dodged.

She wound the ribbon around her arms and held the long knife in one hand, and her machine pistol in the other. She darted forward, activating her Semblance. A second copy kept a mirror pace. She slashed one Fang member, while shooting another. To them it would look like a simultaneous attack; they wouldn't know which one to be ready for.

A lucky dog Faunus guessed at the right Blake and brought his sword down on her head. She simply switched places with her copy, and shot him in the side of the head.

She glanced back at Jaune and Adam. Both were trading blows evenly. Adam's attacks were becoming steadily angrier and more wild, whereas Jaune's blocks were solid and quick. She felt a surge of pride for her current partner. His agility training was paying off.

She used this as an excuse to let the White Fang regroup on her again. She reasoned with her screaming heart that she was keeping them away from her companion. He would need all the concentration he could muster against Adam.

She was helping. She really was.

Blake couldn't argue with herself much longer as she parried an axe aiming for her head. She dug her other knife into the man's neck a second later. She spun around his dying body and unloaded half a clip into the next three Faunus.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she considered conserving ammo. There was no telling how many Grimm they would have to face after they took care of the Fang.

The cat Faunus flipped her gun around in favor of the attached blade. She sent one on the end of a ribbon to dig into the lung of an unsuspecting Faunus. She used his staggering gait against him by pulling herself in and kicking up and over his agonized body. Once in the air, she threw down her other knife into the waiting neck of his friend. She pulled hard on her ribbon and heard her blade rip open the first man's gut, snag on a stubborn rib, before it snapped free and returned to her.

A strangled cry drew her feline eyes over to the opposite side of their local battlefield. Jaune was maneuvering annoying little jabs into Adam's blind spot. Every time he tried to use his rifle, Jaune would bash his shield upward, causing the shot to go wild, and then he would come back down with the sharp edge. While Adam was busy dodging the shield, the comparatively heartier sword would easily deflect his own crimson blade and score a hit on his side.

Adam was getting frustrated.

They clashed, sword and shield to gun and blade.

"Please stop this! We're all on the same side here! Let. Us. Help. You!" Jaune growled through grit teeth.

"Is that what your pet taught you to say?" The venom in Adam's voice made her ears curl. "Did she preach the same nonsense about peaceful coexistence?" He sneered as he put all his weight into pushing Jaune back. "She said the same thing to me, when she was mine."

Jaune's legs began to buckle from the strain of holding back the bull. Adam bore down on him, putting his height advantage to good use.

Blake sent out two of her decoys—to what effect, she didn't know—she just wanted to help Jaune where she had failed to before. But Adam was ready. He had never lost track of her movements even while engaged with the young knight. He slid his rifle along the smooth finish of Jaune's shield and fired off two quick shots, killing off Blake's specters. The point blank discharge disoriented Jaune just enough for Adam to parry his sword.

Blake watched with a bizarre numbness as the hungry red blade sunk into Jaune's side and emerged from his back wet and grinning. She watched his face twist into mute anguish. His sword arm fell limply at his side; his blade stayed in his hand more out of clenched pain than any conscious effort.

No! Oh, gods, no!

"Blake!" Adam's face was a wide, manic grin. He pulled his sword back and pushed it back in, sawing back and forth. Jaune gurgled wetly. "Consider this your punishment for running away from us. From me!" Blake would never forget the horrible ripping and tearing, as her maddened mentor sliced back and forth, back and forth, through her dearest friend. "It's fitting, really," he continued with a grunt of effort, "that you should make others suffer for your mistakes!"

Back and forth, back and forth, three quarters of the way through Jaune's body. His lifeblood gushed out of him in thick waves.

Blake's body was numb. She barely registered her weapons coming to bear, zeroing in on the bull Faunus. If he noticed, he didn't care. He was too busy cutting another human being in half. Jaune's sword hand went slack, his blade slipped through his blood slick fingers.

And his training kicked in.

His hand swept back and gripped the handle of the ceramic knife strapped to his back. The dark shard was invisible in the dusky sky. His blade came up in one fluid motion and buried itself into Adam's neck. Just like she'd taught him.

Adam gasped. Jaune moaned in remorse.

Jaune wrenched the knife back toward him, tearing a long, deep gash into Adam's neck. Blood erupted from the wound and both combatants fell to the ground in a wet heap.

Blake wasn't sure how long she stood there, eyes fixed on the spot where the two men had stood. The heavy weight of reality crashed down on her in every way it could. Her mind reeled from the white noise that muffled her thoughts, her body felt worn and weighted down, she could feel the oppressive heat from the burning dining hall to her right. She could see her dying knight crumpled in a heap atop her former partner, whose body was rapidly cooling in the night.

"Jaune!"

She ran to him, stumbled, fell, and tucked into a rough slide. She collected his blood soaked body in her arms and cast about wildly for help.

"Somebody! Anybody! Please help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Every instinct told her to keep quiet, to run away, but she crushed them down violently. She didn't care if she attracted Grimm or White Fang, or the very hoards of hell. All she knew was that her friend's blood was soaking through her clothes, and she wanted it to stop.

The young knight's face was ashen, and stony. But his eyes blazed brightly. They fixated on her, blaring and wild, as if she would be the last thing he would ever see. But that intensity was only temporary. By the time Ren and Nora finally emerged from the gloom, Jaune's eyes had faded; dim and cloudy.

The rest of that night was a dark haze. She remembered that they seemed to meet more Grimm than White Fang, on the way to the safe zone. But her overtaxed mind couldn't fixate on the detail for a proper analysis, her friend and partner was bleeding to death.

Her next clear memory was of listening to the portable heart monitor in the medical tent. Ren and Nora stayed for a few minutes before they were deemed unhurt and promptly ushered back into the fray. The staff was comprised mostly of the rapid response team on hand at the academy, which was itself built up of the medical team from the school of medicine and any students that happened to be in the building at the time. They bustled around bringing supplies here or barking orders there. Hurt hunters moaned steadily as they nursed their wounds. Blake sat by the young blonde, undisturbed.

She gazed down at her fallen knight. His bandages were already soaked red and he was hooked up to one of the last available IV's. They worked on him rapidly and roughly, practically stapling him back together. When he survived, for she refused to consider the alternative, he would have a horrible scar running across his entire belly.

Her stomach turned from the wet squelching noises that provided the sharp soundtrack of being put back together. The low semiconscious moans that escaped his cracked lips sent fresh stabs of guilt through her heart.

His eyes were open and glaring the whole time they were rooting around in his chest cavity. Blue steel took on an electric tint from the fear, shock, and pain. They whirled around in silent agony; once or twice, even locking onto her own tortured orbs.

It was in those moments that she found she had to look away. She shifted her attention by pretending to become interested in things more important than the survival of her partner. She picked up on the White Fang retreat. It was becoming easier to fend of the Grimm now that they didn't have their fellow man to fight. There was evidently something big at the tower. It was attracting Grimm in waves. She heard that Ruby's team had gone up to fight it. She even heard a horrible roar a time or two, like some kind of dragon. She saw a flash of light through the white tarp of the tent. She sat through the subsequent silence. Then, reports that the Grimm were falling back.

They had won.

She looked down at her pale, still knight.

They had won.

The back of her eyes burned bitterly as the tears welled up. She reached out a tentative hand and gingerly placed it on his cheek. It was reassuringly warm; that was her only consolation. She allowed herself the small happiness of gently stroking his cheek before reluctantly sliding her hand away. All the feelings that had grown for him in secret became amplified, squeezing her heart in a furious grip.

She had caused all of this. If she hadn't become involved with him, he would still be alive. He'd never have befriended a rank coward! He wouldn't have dedicated himself to seeking out her fellow Faunus and extending a hand of friendship. He need never have confronted Adam and tried, like the shining knight he was, to promote peace.

She gazed down at him through liquid amber eyes. She just wanted to show the world that humans and Faunus could get along peacefully. She just wanted to make some friends. She wanted to escape the monster that had become of the White Fang.

Jaune's exhausted body spasmed in silent suffering.

Blake grit her teeth. Well, you got what you wanted, didn't you?

She clenched her fists in bitterness toward herself. She could feel her nails bite into her palms.

She wouldn't cause him any more pain—she refused to.

She would go. She would leave this very night.

But not now, not yet. Ren and Nora would have to come back first and see that he would pull through. The night would have to grow long, and people would have to settle down before she could slip out. Her mind worked out the details of her egress even as her heart screamed at her for being so weak that she couldn't stand by her friend in his hour of need.

Ren and Nora stepped into the tent, ruffled and tired, but alive and in one piece. Their eyes swept solemnly over their fallen leader.

"How's he doing?" Ren's glacial voice drew Blake out of her thoughts.

"They're going to move him into the hospital wing as soon as we have the all clear. Keeping him out here in the open won't be good for his wounds. They want to move him to a proper facility in the morning. Adam's blade m-missed his spine, but not much else." Blake's voice quivered with uncertainty. "If they move him now, he might get jostled and," she groped for the right words, "come apart again." All three of them fought down a wave of nausea.

One of the doctors finally noticed that Blake was still there despite not being hurt, and promptly ushered the three students out. They made their way back to their dorms. The all clear hadn't gone out yet, but there was no more Grimm activity, and the promise of a warm bed and a relatively safe location outweighed the risks, real or imaginary.

Their domicile was relatively unhurt; a crack here, a broken window there, but the all brick structure held fast. They could even see a few lights on in some of the windows where their peers had set up for the night.

Blake, Ren, and Nora shared a silent look before preparing for sleep. They each collapsed onto their beds, allowing the exhaustion to finally weigh them down. Blake looked over at the empty space next to hers, a small frown graced her pale face. Her gaze shifted over to Ren and Nora, who had fallen onto their beds, not even bothering to straighten themselves out. They were good friends, reliable and true.

She would remember them.

The cat Faunus waited until her friends' breathing became steady. She waited until the sounds of rushing footsteps and echoed orders faded into the night. Her feline ears twitched in readiness when the desired level of silence had descended on Beacon Academy.

There wasn't much she needed to take with her, just her weapon and the clothes on her back. She regretted having to leave her books behind, but she could only take when she absolutely needed. She briefly considered taking her favorite, Ninjas of Love, but an unexpectedly large part of her wanted to leave it behind so Jaune would have something to remember her by. She didn't have time to contemplate exactly why she was so sure he would find and appreciate it.

Blake slipped out the door soundlessly. She spared a final glance back at her two comrades before easing the door shut with a soft click. Her ears flicked as she gazed pensively at the opposite door. Ruby and her team were still out there somewhere. They'd been taken away by Professor Ozpin after they successfully defended the tower. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

The black cat slunk down the hall, pausing every now and then to listen. She didn't hear anything except the faint snores of exhausted hunters and huntresses. She made it through the dark common room and into the moonlit night. It was quiet and serene compared to the chaos that had taken place not hours ago. There were guards posted at entrances to important buildings on campus; Beacon tower was surrounded, and a bullhead sat ready to scramble, the lecture halls and science buildings were well guarded, the administration building, where Ozpin's office was, had a small troop of soldiers patrolling around it. She suspected the gates into and out of the school would also be heavily monitored.

It would be no problem slipping past the guards.

She kept to the shadows and darted from cover to cover, where the moonlight was too abundant. Her destination was the medical science building. Injured students would go there for treatment; healthy ones would go there for classes if they selected a medical concentration.

The building was four stories tall, with a spartan facade. There were trees and shrub gardens spaced evenly around the perimeter to help spruce it up a bit. She wasn't sure what room they would have him in, but it wouldn't take long for her to find out.

Blake wound Gambol Shroud's ribbon around a sturdy tree branch and deftly pulled herself up. She stood about level with the second story windows. She paused, pondering where they might keep Jaune. He wouldn't be on the first floor. That would suggest a ground transport, and they wanted to avoid poorly paved streets. That left the fourth floor for an aerial transport.

The cat Faunus climbed up to a higher branch as easily as if she were taking a walk. She used her superior night vision to peer into the modestly curtained windows. From what she saw, she was indeed in the right place. There were hospital beds inside, populated by injured hunters and military.

She hopped from branch to branch, making a slow, steady circuit around the building, looking into the windows as she went. She sought her blonde knight. She wanted to see he was being taken care of before she left.

The ninja finally found the knight clear on the other side of the building, nearest the helipad. She realized, in hindsight, that she probably should have started there. She blamed her lack of awareness on the breach, her emotions, fatigue. Take your pick.

Blake perched on a densely leafed branch. She gazed in on Jaune Arc as he slept. The moonlight splashed into his room, and bathed him in pale blue light. He looked, rather appropriately, like a slumbering lord of some noble court. His sword and shield leaned against the bedside table dutifully.

Her heart twisted to and fro as she silently watched over him. Her only regret throughout all of this was that she wouldn't be able to say goodbye. They had shared their secrets with each other and kept them. To Blake, this meant that Jaune Arc was a reliable person. She hadn't met anyone else who fit that description until she met this boy.

This man.

Her heart clenched tightly. Her large amber eyes stung with unshed tears. He deserved better than her slinking off into the night like a thief. Those secret feelings that brewed in silence for this young man deserved better than to see her run away again. This time, from something that had the very real potential of making her life complete. She didn't need to be alone anymore.

Then why am I leaving!?

I did nothing wrong.

No one would blame me for the Fang's attack.

And yet.

Her improved night vision allowed her to clearly make out the browned bandages around the young man's waist. She'd let that happen. She purposely avoided confronting Adam because her long honed instincts told her that he was far more powerful than her, and she wouldn't be able to take him on just now. She was only thinking of herself. And this is how she thanked the one who freed her from Adam's looming shadow. Fleeing like a coward.

Selfish girl!

Bitter tears leaked out of her eyes, burning her cheeks as they fell into the cool night air. She wiped them away furiously. And, with one final longing look at her injured friend, she dropped down from the tree and nimbly landed on the ground without a single stir.

The black cat resisted the urge to run. She wanted to walk this time, in silent protest to herself. She didn't want to end this comparatively brighter chapter of her life so suddenly. And so she wouldn't. Besides, it would be easier to slip by the guards, moving at a more normal pace.

Blake plotted a long, circuitous path through the many flower gardens that adorned Beacon Academy. She never had much interest in flowers, but they gave her something to look at while she stalled with herself. The normally bright, prismatic bulbs took on an alien hue as they swayed gently under the ghostly light of the moon.

One in particular caught her eye. It was probably some shade of violet during daylight, but in moonlight it very nearly took on the same endless blue of Jaune Arc's eyes. Then, she remembered the boiling pain that had radiated from them all this night, and wrenched her gaze away.

This was for the best. She was sure he would accept it too, in time.

She looked up at the clear, starry sky and pondered the shattered moon. She wondered how it got that way. Surely, only man was capable of such destruction. Records of a broken moon only went as far back as the Great War. Anything before that was far too prone to inaccuracies to be reliable. Did man break his own moon? For what purpose? Or, did the satellite simply crash into the planet in some long forgotten epoch?

Blake shook herself from her idle thoughts. She reminded herself that it was time to go. No more dillydallying. She found herself walking along a lonely cobblestone path that would unite with the main footpath, and, finally, the east gate to Beacon. Just as she was about to take the turn to the final stretch of her sluggish journey, she heard the tick tack of a loose stone.

She knew it was a mistake the moment she turned to identify the sound.

Blake whirled in the opposite direction just as a pair of clammy, cold hands gripped her shoulders. She let out an involuntary yelp at the sight before her.

A gaunt specter in the form of her dear knight hunched before her. His face was twisted in a mixture of pain, anger, and suspicion. An eerie light blazed maddeningly behind his frantic eyes. Blake realized that it was his Aura, desperately trying to keep him upright. His bandages, tightly wound around his body, had once more soaked through, an evil, wet, gray in the moonlit night. There was a wrongness to his posture, as if his hips had been permanently rotated several degrees. His knees buckled badly under the uneven weight distribution, and he looked like he would collapse at any moment.

"This isn't the way to the dorms." His voice sounded like ground concrete.

"J-Jaune! What are you doing—"

"Did you really think you could get away?" Her mind couldn't process that he was actually in front of her. Was she going mad? "Give me some more credit. My perceptions have sharpened since I met you. I knew you wouldn't use the door, so I kept an eye on the window. I saw a shadow move. I figured it was you. I figured right."

The cat took several desperate gulps of cool air to get a hold of her jackhammering heart. Her nearly bifurcated partner stood before her; slumped and nearly dead, but he was real nonetheless. He always had an abundance of Aura, and it was working double time now, keeping him alive.

"J-Jaune. Please, we have to get you back to the medical building. You shouldn't be out in your state."

His grip on her shoulders increased. "Not before you tell me where you were going. And with your weapon, no less." His eyes drooped. His strength was rapidly failing him. He had used up all his energy catching her. She would need to end this quickly.

"I was just going for a walk."

"No you weren't." He shook his head lazily; she could tell he was having trouble holding it up. His voice was beginning to slur.

"Jaune, I was just unwinding from the battle, that's all."

"Blake!" His sharp exclamation was all he had left in him. His body pitched forward, his hands slid from her shoulders to around her waist in a desperate grip. He half collapsed, half slumped onto her shoulder.

Blake quickly wound her arms around him in a supportive hold. "Jaune, let me get you back to the medical wing. Please!" Her voice quivered badly and she couldn't see clearly through the haze of tears. He had actually come for her. Oh, heavens, he had actually come to stop her!

"You're going to run away again!"

Her eyes widened. "W-Wha—"

"You'll just run away the second I pass out."

Her heart hurt at the accusation. But she couldn't deny it either.

"I-I won't run away. I promi—"

"Don't you dare." He seethed hotly into her ear. "Don't you dare promise me anything you won't actually keep."

Her shoulders shook and tears fell down her cheeks. "Jaune, I... I'm sorry."

Jaune leaned heavily on his partner, gathering his strength, listening to her quiet weeping. "I saw the look in your eyes. When they were working on me. It was the same look you had on the roof. Remember? When you were still hiding. It wasn't hard, connecting the dots." He gulped dryly. "Why are you running away, Blake?" He gasped for breath. "Is it because I killed your friend?"

She squeezed him as much as she could considering his injuries and shook her head violently, unable to speak through her mounting hysteria.

"You didn't kill my friend!" She choked out the words through her burning throat. "You put down a monster that long since took his place. You freed both of us! You freed both of us, Jaune." She sucked in cool air from between gritted teeth. She took solace from their closeness and allowed her hysteria to gradually melt away. Her ears folded back, and her luminescent eyes stared into her troubled past. "We were partners in the Fang." Her voice was quiet and deliberate. "He used to be a lot like you back then; he had a strong code never to hurt innocents. But over time, he changed. The Fang changed." Her voice quivered as her mind struggled to grasp this whole mad situation. "He became violent and disregarded people's lives.

"The entire time, I felt like he was my responsibility since I knew him the longest. I wanted to talk to him, make him see that his methods were wrong. But the Fang wasn't a place where you could have those kinds of conversations. Not anymore. Being partners, I felt I had a role in his killings, and if anyone was going to make him answer for his crimes it would be the one who never stopped him sooner. But I wasn't ready to take him on when I left the Fang. And I wasn't ready when we met him today. In the back of my mind, I was always sure he would just find me some day and kill me. I was just buying time by running away."

They stood in silence for a long minute, Jaune breathing raggedly, and Blake propping both of them up at this point.

Jaune's hands weakly stroked her quaking back. "I caught the look on your face when we ran into him. I figured you had some history together." His voice was slow and weak. "You expected to take him on with no one by your side, hm?" She nodded into his shoulder. She didn't trust herself to speak anymore. "I bet you thought that when he killed you, no one would bother mourning you. Why would they, you've spent most of your life in the shadows. Who would even know you were dead?"

She began to tremble anew, hearing her darkest fears spoken back to her.

"Silly kitten." She froze. He had never used such a name for her before. Her heart swelled happily. "I would never let you face him alone." His fingers wove themselves through her silky raven hair.

She shook her head into his shoulder. A sound somewhere between a wail, a moan, and a sob muffled into his thin shirt. "I could have helped. I should have stepped in and helped. I wanted to—i needed to, but I didn't." Her throat hurt and her vision blurred with hot tears. "I did this to you!"

"No you didn't."

"Yes, I did! What right do I have to be here anymore!?"

"Blake, You're my friend. And you mean a lot to me—to all of us. And I'm not going to stand around while some jerk hurts one of my friends. You're part of a team here, Blake. And not like the Fang where you're just a means to an end. Here, we care about you. Your problems are our problems. I'm sorry, kitten, but you're just going to have to get used to the idea." He paused a beat, catching his breath. "Now, I'm glad we could talk about all this, but if you think for one second that this is a good enough excuse to run away, you're wrong. You're not going anywhere. And mother of all stomach aches or not, I'm going to stop you as many times as I need to until you get a clue."

He didn't have the strength to shake her, but he did stroke her hair with emphasis.

Her sadness and regret turned to relief as his labored words settled into her mind. She desperately wanted someone to stop her. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave this place. And deep down, she knew she wanted Jaune to be the one to stop her. It was in his very nature to aid those in need, and if there was ever someone who needed some help, it was her. He said he would never leave her alone. Normally, it would just be so much brave talk, but Jaune Arc meant every last once of the oath; he would never let her fight her battles all by herself.

Jaune's hand moved shakily up to the top of her head. His fingers lightly fondled her black velvet ears. Her tears dried and the quaking in her body subsided, leaving behind a softy purring Faunus.

"Not letting you go. You hear, cat?" Jaune's voice had grown dim, his breath, harsh and labored.

"I hear." She lightly nuzzled his shoulder in thanks before reluctantly pulling away. "We have to get you back to bed."

He looked pale and unwell. A film of sweat had broken out on his face, and it was evident that he had used up every last ounce of energy he had. "You won't run away."

It was a statement of fact.

She smiled. Her bright amber eyes glittered happily. "No."

The ravenette leaned up and lightly brushed her lips against his.

An easy smile slipped across his face. His eyes lost some of the pain and tension that had taken residence there. Thus assured, he finally crumpled against her, unconscious.

* * *

Blake buried her face into her pillow, wiping away the tears that always sprung up when she recalled that particular memory. That night had made heroes of them all. With Adam out of the picture early in the invasion, the Fang dropped back, leaving the Grimm to graze aimlessly. The students, staff, and military dealt with them soundly. It was Ruby and her team who had defended Beacon tower successfully, defeating the dragon and driving off Cinder.

Jaune healed, and emerged into a world that had more or less returned to normal. Now, instead of skirmishes with the Fang, they were sent out with their sister team to hunt down Cinder and her conspirators.

Blake ran a hand along his cheek. They were side by side through it all, for four whole years. They grew closer than she ever thought possible, given her past. She was his eyes and ears while they waded through Salem's unnatural darkness. And his simple presence filled her with such light that she felt she could best even the blackest of evils.

Her bright, shining knight.

All of a sudden her heart tugged badly. She needed to see him. Right now.

Blake pushed herself up and hovered over his peaceful face,. Wherever he was, he was untroubled and content. She gently lowered herself onto him, placing her hands on his shoulders. The black silk curtain of her hair spilled across their joined bodies. She took a moment to appreciate his solid body pressed against hers. A pleasant heat pooled in her core when she thought about the strong network of muscles that slumbered just beneath her. Her large amber eyes peered down at him lovingly. She glanced over at Ren and Nora to see if they were awake yet.

They weren't.

She bent down and lightly ran her tongue up his cheek. She waited to see his reaction. Nothing. She smiled and licked his other cheek. His sighed in his sleep. She rolled her eyes. She peppered feather light licks along his face. She made a full circuit before she ran her tongue across his lips, slow and lingering. A soft purr tumbled from her mouth as she enjoyed their warmth. She pulled up a bit and flicked her tongue over his nose.

He liked it when she licked his nose.

A content sigh breezed from his mouth as his eyes opened to greet the day.

Sapphire met topaz, and a slow smile spread across his face. Janne reached up and rubbed just behind her feline ears. Her purrs grew louder, and her eyes hooded in satisfaction.

He moved his hand from the top of her head to gently cup her cheek. The other slid up her waist, taking great pleasure in exploring the sensual slopes and curves of her figure, before joining its brother in cradling her face. He brought her down for a chaste morning kiss.

Okay, two.

No, three.

One more for luck.

"Qu'avons nous là? Est-ce mon chaton?"

"Qui. Qui, ça l'est." She smiled down at him.

Learning Jaune's native tongue had become a matter of course, from her frequent visits to the Arc household. The family spoke the common tongue with her just fine, it was amongst themselves that they always defaulted to the native speech. Coupled with the fact that Jaune's family spoke to one another virtually all day, it was quite dizzying trying to follow who was saying what, and to whom. Jaune did his level best to decipher the rapid fire back and forth, but she could see having the same conversation twice was taking its toll on him.

It didn't take long for her to pick it up; she had more than enough people to help her learn, after all. She fully appreciated the extra layer of intimacy it afforded them. Yang couldn't quite jeer at them nearly as much when she didn't know what they were saying. Ruby would go red at the pretty sounding speech. And Weiss would blister about how rude they were being, having a conversation no one else could understand.

She felt a gentle heat bloom on her face as the calloused pads of his thumbs ran across her smooth cheeks. His eyes roamed over her. She could see him etching the details of her face into his mind; he looked for little things that might be different, and the things that might be the same. He saw the residual dimness in her eyes, the unusual sheen of fading tears.

Jaune pulled her down and wrapped his arms securely around her waist. He stroked up and down her body, squeezing her every now and again. He didn't need to ask her what was bothering her, he already knew. He always knew.

"Did I wake you?" she mumbled into his chest. His native tongue flowed easily from her lips.

"No." The low rumble of his throat tickled her ear. "I've been up for a while now. Too excited to sleep."

They lay together, Jaune slowly petting his cat, and Blake, basking in his warmth. They listened to the sounds of the now bustling academy. They heard shouts and hollers echoing across campus as students called to each other. Feet pounded against the pavement at irregular beats as people in varying degrees of hurry darted about. Someone was playing some kind of instrument some ways down the street.

Blake's ear twitched. A mandolin.

"Quelle heure est-il?" Jaune's voice was still sluggish from sleep.

Her eye flicked over Ren's clock radio. "Près de onze."

Jaune turned glanced over at Ren and Nora. Still dead to the world.

They lay there, just letting the day melt away. Blake allowed her mind to lazily wander over what they actually needed to do today, while her knight's hand started drawing shapes on her back.

"When were your parents coming in, again?"

"They're flying in some time this evening. I've got it on my Scroll."

"I thought they were coming this morning."

"They decided to bring the whole platoon."

Blake called up an image of Jaune's home; a sunny little cottage with a modest stretch of land attached to it. Every time she'd been there, there had been a different collection of Arc sisters to greet her. Some were just popping in, others would be going, and others still wouldn't be home until later in the year, etc.

"They're flying in?"

"Yeah."

She rifled through her memory for a second. "Do any of your sisters get air sick like you?"

"Naw, just me and mom."

Blake hummed in acknowledgment.

"Lucky, too. We'd be on every no fly list on the planet if none of us could hold our lunch."

A clipped laugh was all she could afford considering their sleeping friends.

Blake filled her mind with thoughts of Jaune's family. They were the very embodiment of sunlight. All of them were happy, bright, intelligent, and strikingly blonde. Their careers and schools took them to the far flung corners of the known world, so taking time off to be together was rare and therefore, incredibly valuable. When she thought of how she, too, was included in that togetherness, she couldn't quite place the emotion she felt; it overwhelmed her if she thought about it too much. All she knew was that she was grateful.

"It'll be nice to see them all at once for a change."

She could feel his smile through her place on his chest. "Yeah, it will. Mom's making that custard you like."

"Really!? I mean, er, that sounds great. Yeah." She tried to mask her excitement, but he laughed and gave her a hearty squeeze. He knew his kitten was happy. She couldn't fool him.

"Yeah. But try to act surprised. She's trying to make up for missing your birthday."

Blake peered up at him with inquisitive feline eyes; a smile sparkled in his.

"Did your dad say anything?"

"Hm? No. Why?"

If she had a tail, it would be sashaying back and forth in equal parts nervousness and a devious play at distracting her knight. As it is, she succeeded just fine putting a cute little wiggle into her tush. She caught her boy's eyes tracking her rear and filed that information away for later.

Her interactions with the elder Arc had always been somewhat awkward. He never had much to say to her, and every now and again he'd get this look in his eye that made her feel strangely sad. It was all very confusing.

She tried to make herself look smaller, but all that really accomplished was further snuggling her into his chest, and securing her in his arms

Jaune clicked his tongue. "Dad loves you, Blake. It's just every time he sees you he starts remembering how he met mom. He always said, the most important thing he did was meet mom. He gets emotional about it." He gave her a quick squeeze. "He thinks you're one of those too cool for school types. So, he doesn't talk to you about it cause he's scared you'll think he's lame."

"I wouldn't!"

"Well, we know that. But he's had enough practice accidentally sabotaging my sisters that he's being extra careful with me."

They shared a muffled laugh.

Blake made a mental note to take the elder Arc aside and hear his story. Anything that would help her grow closer to the family that had been so generous with her was always a plus. And she more than appreciated a nice long story.

Time marched forward at its usual pace, and before long, she was met with the gentle rise and fall of her companion's chest. Jaune had dropped off to sleep again. It sounded like a good idea. She appreciated the feel of Jaune's iron hard grip around her waist. His other hand had gone up to gently comb the top of her head. She snuggled into him with a content smile on her face.

His strong heartbeat thumped reassuringly in her ear white she cast one last look about the drowsy room. Ren was awake, staring quietly into the ceiling; a peaceful expression on his face. Nora was curled up in a little ball, apparently having bested whatever it was that dared intrude on her dreams. Muffled voices carried through the thin walls of the dorm as people passed, no doubt conversing about what the future would hold for the graduating class.

Blake's eyes grew heavy as she listened to the steady drumming of Jaune's heartbeat. Her mind became increasingly unfocused as her knight's singular beat gently swept her away, once more, to the land of dreams.

* * *

Apologies if the French is wrong. I only had Google Translate as help. I originally wanted to do their entire conversation in French, but then i ran into the problem of where to put the English, so people would understand it. Putting the English alongside the text would have been inelegant. Putting it down here would be awkward to scroll back and forth with. And having people copy/paste the text into Translate would be just as bad. In the end, i compromised this way. Regardless, the intent was that they're speaking entirely in French to each other. I just hope i put enough context to sell it.

Thanks for reading.


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